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Susie hates that goddamn quiet kid. She means it. Really. Susie hates a lot of things—the shitty school system, narrow-minded dickheads, the world, a lot of obvious stuff.
But what she hates in particular, in a way almost no one does, is quiet people.
Not shy people, no. Susie doesn't have much against people who can't talk for whatever reason.
It's people who won't talk. People who have things to say, things they know, things that Susie wants to know… and then just keep it all to themselves.
The people who stare at her in the hallways with blatant judgment in their eyes, a blatant hatred of her appearance, demeanor, and very being that they elect not to voice, for whatever reason—cowardice, the belief that they're too good for conversation with the class outcast, some deluded belief that she's too stupid to see it unless they say it out loud, a supposed 'politeness'—it's worse than being made fun of. Than being jeered at, laughed at, and shunned.
At least those sorts of people are being honest about what they think.
Most of the people in Susie's new class are honest, at the very least—upfront about hating her.
Not the quiet kid. Kris Dreemurr, that's their name—some human freak, with footsteps as silent as a Ninja's and a facial expression eternally schooled into impassivity. Their eyes are ruby red, the sort of color you'd usually never see outside of comic books and TV shows.
Susie had thought, for a while, that they were wearing contacts. She had pinned them up against the lockers outside Mrs. Alphys's classroom and tried to see for herself what exactly was going on with those goddamn jewels in their eyeballs.
She had prepared for it—looked up all the signs of colored contacts, practiced distinguishing between eyes with and without them in, and made sure her vision was in tiptop shape before pulling up their bangs and looking deep in their eyes to see what exactly was going on. For a single hint of fakeness, of any sign that they weren't as they seemed.
But there was nothing, no matter how hard she stared. All Susie could discern was a growing amusement in their, apparently, naturally bright red eyes.
"How forward," they'd said, flashing her a finger gun and a wink.
Kris likes that kinda thing—taking all her attempts to cow them and turning them all around on her with stupid flirty shit. When they do talk, that's almost all they say.
Susie hates that—the way they wield a cheap imitation of love like their weapon, the way they manage to make her feel small even though she's at least a solid foot taller.
Has she mentioned she hates them yet? Because it's true. She hates them. Susie hates Kris Dreemurr and their stupid bright red eyes and stupid smirk their stupid sweater that their loving Mom hand-knitted for them—Seriously, why do they get such a great mom?
That's another thing she hates about them. Because they're every bit as weird as she is, if not weirder. They're the only human in a town full of monsters and their eyes are bright red and they like freaky shit like knives and messing with people.
But despite that, they get everything she's ever wanted. Their Mom loves them, holds their hand to school and packs them lunches. They get good grades without even trying—Susie sees them sleeping in class half the time, and yet, somehow, they always get As on their tests and take advanced classes and all that nerdy shit. They're even pretty strong despite having no visible muscle—all the perks without any of the downsides that come with being big and strong and scary.
They're good at playing the piano. Swimming. Dodgeball. Ballet. Chess. They beat her at a hot-dog eating contest.
And on top of all of that, as if getting all of that wasn't enough, Kris is dating none other than Noelle Holiday.
Noelle is probably the nicest, coolest person ever. She's rich, smart, pretty, good at sports, and on top of all that, she's nice.
Susie had expected to be completely shunned by the entire class for however long it was she spent at Hometown's school before inevitably being moved somewhere else. But then, on the first day of school, she'd found herself forgetting a pencil.
Immediately, Noelle Holiday had approached her, not a hint of fear in her eyes.
"Didja forget your pencil?" She'd said cheerily, as if she wasn't the most popular girl in class talking to the school outcast. "I'll lend you one! Here—Do you want the one with the candy canes or the mini-santas?"
Noelle… Really likes Christmas. Like, she really likes Christmas. An unnatural amount.
Susie had taken the candycane pencil, holding it for a second in sheer disbelief at the fact that she'd been given something by someone so above her.
And sure, those candycanes hadn't actually tasted like candycanes so she kinda got scammed there, but… but the fact that she'd been given that gift in the first place—It meant a lot to her.
Maybe that's stupid. Whatever.
But it's just…
Look, Noelle is so, so perfect, and so, so out of her league. Of course, Susie doesn't think there's any world out there where she has a chance with that walking angel, but…
She chose Kris Dreemurr. Quiet freak with the bright red eyes and the absolutely insufferable personality.
Susie has no right to dictate who Noelle does and doesn't date. She is not somehow entitled to Noelle just because the girl was nice to her once, she knows that.
…But out of everyone, literally everyone she could've picked, why Kris Dreemurr?
Susie isn't stupid. She sees those longing glances, those furtive whispers, the way they're comfortable with each other in a way only fathomable after a lifetime spent together yet awkward as lovebirds on a honeymoon—It's undeniable what they are.
She'd asked Noelle about it once, all awkward and tongue-tied as she usually is around the girl.
"So, uh… you and Kris're um. Friends. Right?" She'd questioned.
Noelle had immediately frozen on the spot, startled eyes like a doe in headlights, her fingers twiddling together in an awkward secrecy.
"We're… something else," she'd said with a forlorn glance.
'Something else'. So they were dating. Everyone knows that's what that phrase means—Lovers for people who're too shy to admit they're lovers.
That day, after school, Susie had been kicking rocks, like normal people do when they're upset—Flinging then off with the flick of her foot, watching as the insignificant pebbles were thrown around and utterly cowed by the might of Suzie-zilla—If only she had a bigger tail to flick them around with, that'd be extra cool…
"Hey." Kris Dreemurr, the quiet little shithead that had somehow pulled Noelle Holiday of all people, snuck up behind her, leading her to led out a startled yelp.
Susie had glared at them—Though she doubts it was visible from beneath her bangs.
"Fuck off," she'd said. "How the hell does Noelle stand your ass?"
And all of a sudden, Kris had stilled—Body eerily stiff as they stared up at her with owlish eyes.
"Noelle?" they'd questioned, as if tasting the way her same sounded on their tongue.
That pissed her off. They obviously knew what she was talking about—Anyone would. Why the hell were they playing dumb?
"Don't act all coy with me," she'd said. "I know the two of you're all chummy."
Kris had tilted their head at that, blinking slowly like a confused puppy. It was cute, and that made it even more insufferable—why did the most annoying shithead on this planet have to get such a cute pleading face?
And Susie could just imagine Noelle's endearment at that, the way she'd coo and jokingly ask them if they wanted a treat. Kris would say yes, just to tease her, pointing to their cheek with a wink—they just love doing all that flirty shit, don't they? Susie doesn't get why they aren't more reserved about who they flirt with when they literally have a girlfriend. Not just any girlfriend, but Noelle Holiday, the most pretty, sweet, and intelligent girl Susie has ever met. Don't they realize how lucky they are? Why aren't they treasuring what they have?
And she can imagine Noelle getting all flustered—sight for sore eyes that would be—telling off Kris for teasing her only to acquiesce in the end, pressing her plush pinkish lips to theirs in a gesture of affection they certainly don't deserve.
She thinks of this and seethes—What did Kris ever do to deserve that? Seriously? They're the most annoying, absolutely insufferable freak she's ever met. They put even Berdly to shame.
Nevertheless, Susie remains firm in her resolution that Noelle should really dump Kris and find someone better. After all, even on that day—her having explicitly called out her awareness of the fact that the two of them were dating, Kris had still refused to acknowledge that obvious truth. Instead, they'd just stared at her—Not even offering a verbal denial or confirmation—just... stared. A mixture of emotions were in their eyes, conflict that they really shouldn't've had while being spoken to about their wonderful and loving girlfriend.
Kris had seemed forlorn. Why the hell had they seemed forlorn? They were just reminded of the fact that they were dating Noelle Holiday. They should've been filled with joy—maybe a little anxiety over the fact that they clearly were not good enough for Noelle Holiday, but still.
Conflict, confusion, a hint of bitterness—none of that was what Susie had expected.
And so, over the weeks, she's been observing their behavior. The way Noelle always lends Kris things, offers to tutor them, gives them leftovers from her lunch. The way she always stares at them from afar as they brood in their seat with hope in her eyes, hope that they'll start a conversation, and she concludes one thing. One thing that, in hindsight, is really obvious. Something that she kinda should've concluded from the get-go.
Kris is a terrible partner.
Seriously.
Susie knows she might not be the most impartial judge here because she hates them—for good reason—and she has, from the start, been of the firm belief that they do not deserve Noelle, but she really does think that would be the case. Even if you changed the names and faces and twisted everything around or swapped the roles or whatever, it's true.
Anyone who does what Kris does on a regular basis would be by every account and definition, a terrible partner. They ignore her half the time while she stares at them with yearning in her eyes, yearning for a connection that they refuse to provide. She offers them so many opportunities to hang out, does them so many favors, and in return, receives... nothing.
Kris barely ever looks her in the eye. And look, Susie is the last person who can judge someone else for being bad with eye contact, but that's their girlfriend. And they have no problem making extended eye-contact with Susie, for example. In fact, they seemingly relish in looking deep into her eyes as if gazing upon her very soul, watching as that piercing stare breaks her down and, in spite of her best efforts, she inevitably forfeits their imaginary staring contest.
With Noelle, though, it's a completely different story. They gaze at her from afar, admiring as an onlooker to a work of art, only to feign sleep or distraction the moment Noelle turns her gaze to them. You'd think Kris was the shiest person ever with the way they always acted so furtive, so nervous, but no. Kris is a casual flirt and a tease who, for some reason, loses any and all ability to take initiative when it comes to Noelle.
And now, having had to watch all of this play out in real time from her seat, Susie has truly had it. She has lost her patience. She is fed up with watching as Kris completely fails to cherish the most wonderful woman in the world.
More than that, Susie cares about Noelle, stupid and weird as that may seem. She barely talks to Noelle, but she cares a lot. Noelle is the only person who here who’s been nice to her, seen her as something beyond a simpleton and a bully. She wants Noelle to be happy.
So, since she obviously can't convince Noelle to dump Kris's ass and find literally anyone else, she may as well get Kris to step the fuck up.
So, one day, after class, Susie—part planned, part on impulse—corners Kris outside the classroom and confronts them.
"Hey," she says with a snarl. Kris, for their part, seems entirely unmoved.
"Hey," they say, even waving a little as if entirely unbothered and unafraid of her having pinned them against the wall.
"Kris." She starts, pausing for emphasis. "You know something that pisses me off?"
"Quiet people?" They retort, grinning as if they've just told the funniest joke in the world. Susie considers punching the smirk off their face, but refrains.
"That's one thing," she says. "But y'know why quiet people piss me off so much?"
Kris goes quiet, ruby red eyes scanning her expression as if trying to parse what exactly she's trying to say.
"See, it's the fact that they'll be thinkin' all these things about you and they can't even be bothered to letcha know," she says. "They think you're too stupid to figure it out, even when it's the most obvious shit in the world."
Kris blinks.
"I know you think I'm stupid, Kris," she says. They look at her with confusion—as if surprised she was able to figure out something so obvious. "Don't give me that look. Whatever. That's not what I'm here to talk about."
Kris says nothing, but their gaze turns expectant, as if silently questioning—'Well, what are you here to talk about, then?'
"See, I'm not stupid," she says, like it's something she really needs to prove—which in and of itself is kinda stupid, she'll admit. Kris Dreemurr is a loser and an insufferable shithead and she doesn't need to prove a thing to them. Not one. "I know how much you care about Noelle or whatever. Anyone with eyes does."
Kris stills at that, eyes wide and owlish, as if she's just delivered a blow to their gut.
"..." Their mouth opens and closes without a word spoken, as if their voice had been stripped from their throat.
"But Noelle doesn't know that, y'know?" she says. "Noelle's all up in her head trying to get you to look her way, and you don't give a single shit about how hard she's trying. Doesn't matter how much 'care' you've got if you can't even be bothered to let her know."
Kris lets out a frustrated grunt—a sound entirely alien to Susie. She doesn't think she's ever seen them so... upset. It's always serenity, always calm impassivity or amusement. When Susie threatens to beat the crap out of them, they laugh. When she calls them names, awful, horrible names—they raise a brow.
But here she sees them, their brows furrowed and face slightly scrunched up, discomfort written all over their face.
"I hardly see why that matters to you," they say. Before Susie can continue to question them, they slip out of her hold, already walking away.
Her eye twitches.
"Don't think you're getting out of this that easily, you little shit," she grumbles, skulking after them at the fastest pace she can without looking too desperate. Kris's pace slows ever so slightly—if Susie didn't know better, she'd think they wanted to be caught.
"Look," she says, grabbing them by the arm. "Don't get the wrong idea—I still can't stand your ass. But Noelle deserves better."
Kris stares blankly at her.
"She does."
"Right. So be better."
Kris squints at her for a brief period, before finally settling their expression into an amusement far more practiced than usual, a desperation replacing their ordinarily easy mirth.
"You're awfully invested in my relationships for someone who claims they can't stand me," they say with a wink, only furthering Susie's frustration.
"And that's another thing," she says. Kris raises a brow. "You gotta stop flirting with other people all willy-nilly. If there's anyone you should be flirting with, it's Noelle. Y'know, the girl you actually like."
At that moment, something Susie had never thought possible happens.
Kris goes bright red, eyes widening and a flush overtaking their face as they push themselves out of her hold, landing on the floor with an unceremonious thud.
"Don't say stupid things," they say schooling their face back into neutrality. "…I'm going home."
And with that, they walk off—cool and collected as they may seem at a cursory glance, it's obvious to anyone with eyes what they're really doing.
Kris is fleeing because they're too much of a coward to confront the fact that they're being a shitty partner to Noelle. God, they seriously need to step up. Even Susie could do better. If she were in their shoes, she'd cherish Noelle will all her heart, let that girl know she was loved and cared for. She'd stare with pride and grin whenever Noelle stared back. Every time Noelle asked her to hang out, she'd accept with utmost enthusiasm, acknowledging her sheer fortune to be given an opportunity like that by none other than Noelle Holiday herself.
But other than that... Susie can't help but be taken in by just how uncharacteristically flustered Kris was. Kris is a little shit, and they're an unflappable little shit, at that. it's almost impossible to catch them off guard, to see through any supposed bravado, to make them react in any significant way.
But the moment she mentioned Noelle, it was like their entire demeanor had shifted in an instant.
It lingers in her mind. It lingers in her mind more than it should, the way they'd gone red-faced and avoidant. She thinks about just how easy she'd gone on them that day, how she could've easily gone harder, been meaner—Susie thinks about how she could've very well forced them to lean in, cupped their face and made them look her in the eyes. These thoughts of opportunities missed linger almost as much as the thoughts of frustration.
It's clear they haven't learned a thing from that confrontation. In spite of everything, Kris remains avoidant, cold, and standoffish. Are they doing that 'playing hard to get' thing that some fuckwits do because they think it makes them look cool?
Susie realizes she's never going to get a straight answer out of them. And she doesn't want to bother Noelle, either.
So, she does the next best thing.
One day, after school, Susie stomps into the Library—librarby, apparently—and stares that loser Berdly in the eyes.
"E-Er, foul Susan!" he cries. "What are you doing in this establishment of knowledge and learning?"
"...Berdly." She says. "Do you wanna know what the inside of a locker feels like?"
Berdly gasps, before clearing his throat.
"I- I shall not be cowed by your threats!" he proclaims. "If you have a question for me, speak it now or leave this place of peace at once!"
Susie rolls her eyes.
"Yeah, yeah," she says. "Just wanted to offer you a... little extra incentive to be honest here."
She pauses for emphasis, watching as Berdly's eyes dart around the room nervously.
"So," she says. "You're smart, right?"
At that, some of Berdly's nerves dissipate, replaced with pride as he knows that.
"Indeed!" he says. "My intellect is surpassed by no one, especially not you, Susan!"
He's really lucky she's feeling nice today.
"Right," she says. "So, have you figured out why the hell that red-eyed freak is such a dick to Noelle?"
"Language!" says Berdly, instincts apparently overriding his self-preservation. "But, ah, as for your question... My rival is not, to put it less crassly than you, being intentionally rude. They do not mean to shun my dear Noelle."
He lets out an overdramatic sigh.
"But alas... Their feeble, tsundere heart is too afraid to ever admit to the depths of their feelings for Noelle!" he says. "Perhaps it is for the better. Her heart, after all, has already been claimed by me... and yet, I cannot requit her affections! What a dastardly predicament we've found ourselves in."
Susie squints.
"Tsundere?" she questions. She'll ignore Berdly's mysterious delusions for now. "The hell does that mean?"
"Uh... you know," Berdly slips out of his performative affectation for a second, seemingly caught off guard. "Someone who acts prickly to conceal their feelings for the person they like? It's... a really common term in anime."
"I don't watch anime."
Berdly's face falls slightly.
"...Of course you don't." He clears his throat once again. "Now then, if you have no other queries left, I must urge you to vacate the library premises at once!"
"Yeah, yeah," Susie says, stomping out the room. She doesn't wanna spend any more time talking to Berdly of all people than she absolutely has to.
So Kris… likes being mean to people they like. That's… questionable? Weird as hell? Susie doesn't know where to start with that.
Maybe they watched one of those 'animes' themself and got the wrong idea—thought it was cute or whatever. Well, it's not. It's frustrating and hard to watch.
She corners them again after class one day.
"I've figured out what your whole deal is, freak," she says. Their eyes narrow, a glint of amusement shining through.
"Have you, now?" They question. She snarls at their inability to take her seriously, forcibly calming her temper. This is for Noelle.
"Look. Stop being a tsundere."
At once, their face darkens. Kris stares at her with revulsion, vitriol in their eyes, a gateway to what must be sheer, unbridled hatred in their heart.
Their lips curl into a frown, posture tensed and fists clenched.
"Tsundere," they echo. "I'm guessing Berdly brought this up?"
"…Yeah?" Susie says, unable to muster up her ordinary spite towards them due to her sheer confusion.
"Don't listen to him," they say. "It's a stupid term that cheesy low-quality wish fulfillment slop animes use to describe anyone that acts even slightly mean to anyone ever. Berdly loves to throw it around so he can delude himself into thinking the girls that are mean to him secretly like him when we all know that no girl in this whole wide world will ever have a crush on Berdly… No one, in fact, regardless of gender. Because he's the sort of person who likes throwing around words like 'tsundere' and 'kuudere' everyone someone is even slightly mean to him. I am not, in fact, a tsundere."
Susie doesn't even get the chance to begin formulating a response to whatever the hell that was when Kris continues, thoroughly enraged.
"And I know what you're going to say, because I've heard it a million times: That's just what a tsundere would say," they scoff in complete and utter disgust. "You think you're so, so funny. Everyone does. That's the problem with the label of 'tsundere' in the first place. Someone pigeonholes you into that box of the shy flustered blushing love interest who can't admit their feelings and you can't even protest their sheer stupidity or else they'll take it as proof that you're right. I'm not a tsundere. A tsundere is a stupid term that usually describes the most insufferable characters to have disgraced this planet with their conception in order to make their atrocious behavior seem adorable—because they are conventionally attractive anime characters, so it's okay when they do it. A way to idealize being a piece of shit to the person you love. Because that's all those anime fans do. they idealize shit. They idealized being reincarnated as a vending machine. They idealized kidnapping your crush. Everything is adorable and cute and I am completely and utterly disgusted by that foolish mindset."
…
Susie blinks, trying in desperation to process whatever the hell that was. Like, seriously, what was that? That's probably the most words she's ever heard Kris speak at once. Hell, that diatribe alone is probably more than she's heard them speak in total.
Why are they so passionate about this? What's wrong with them? Did anime kill their grandma or some shit?
"Damn," she murmurs. "That weird ass monologue aside… Isn't that exactly what you do to Noelle?"
At once, the comic levels of passion leave Kris like the air of a deflating balloon.
"It isn't like that," they say.
"Seems like it to me," she says.
"It isn't."
"And why isn't it like that?" Susie questions, raising a brow. "'Cause it seems to me like you're being a dick to her for the love of the game."
"…You wouldn't get it."
Rage unfurls in her chest the moment she hears those words.
She wouldn't get it, would she? Because she's too stupid to understand their ever so high-brow line of reasoning. Because Susie is an idiot who doesn't get anything about how normal people operate.
She can't stand it. She can't stand how they always look down on how, how even when, for once, she's trying to help them, they treat her with utmost condescension.
Susie's body acts before her brain—The next thing she knows, she's hoisting them up by the scruff of their neck and her free hand is grabbing onto their arm like she's trying to break it.
"You think I'm stupid, Kris?" Kris's eyes widen ever so slightly. "Well, I know you think I'm stupid. I know I can't do those math problems with a shitton of letters and symbols. I can't tell you every single part of a cell. But don't get on your high horse about all that pointless shit, because what I can tell you is that a ton of good stuff's fallen right into your lap, and you're just throwing it all away, y'know that?"
Strangely enough, Kris does not flinch as they had before, only meeting her with an easy smile, as if comforted by her aggression.
That pisses her off even more.
Susie shakes them aggressively, trying to let out as much of her anger as she can in one go.
"You—" she starts, not even sure of what she wants to say. "Noelle's wasting her goddamn time on you."
They don't object—in fact, they nod along, entirely unpreturbed. Susie hates them. She hates them so much. They don't deserve any of this, any of the good things they have that for some reason she doesn't get, because they're an ungrateful little shit and they can't appreciate any of it properly. If Susie had half of what they did, she'd be the happiest girl in the whole world.
And yet they have the gall to walk around with a permanent misery entrenched in their being.
Seeing nothing else to do, Susie tosses them aside and storms off with a huff. Rage permeates her chest, but more than that, something seeps in. Regret.
They all called her an animal—A brute with no self-control, a walking monster in the stereotypical sense of the word.
And she can't ever seem to prove them wrong, can she?
Susie doesn't like feeling like this, wild and unravelling and cruel. She's, at the very least, tried to keep to herself nowadays.
But Kris pushes her buttons. So often, she finds herself doing and saying the cruelest things to them only to feel completely and utterly terrible for it afterwards. And yet, she never can bring herself to stop.
The next day, Kris is the one who corners her, for a change. Susie's been avoiding them, trying to stave off that feeling of guilt that nags at her every time the two of them lock eyes—It's semi successful, until that lunch, where Kris walks into the abandoned classroom where she hides to snack on her chalk.
The door slams shut. Kris sits down next to her.
"…" Susie so desperately wants to break this stifling silence, and yet she finds herself unable to think of anything to say.
"Sorry about earlier," Kris says, startling her.
Why the hell are they apologizing? She's the one who was bullying them.
"You're sorry?" she questions, raising a disbelieving brow.
"I didn't mean to insinuate I thought you were stupid," Kris says. "You simply lack the context necessary to understand. You wouldn't understand, just as Catti wouldn't understand, nor would Berdly. It wasn't a slight."
Perhaps they were trying to make her feel better with that statement—but hearing it, all Susie can feel is a distinct bitterness at the reminder of Kris and Noelle's sheer closeness, the memories they have with her that she will never get to take part in no matter how badly she desires it.
It stings like sanitizer in a cut, like swallowing hot coals. Susie finds herself nodding numbly, restraining herself only because she doesn't want to lose control again.
"…Want some of my lunch?" Kris offers, after a few seconds of silence.
Susie scoffs.
"I don't need your pity, freak."
"I didn't offer you pity. I offered you part of my lunch."
Kris takes out an apple from their lunchbox—a big, bright red, juicy apple with a faint yet enticing smell… or maybe that's just the smell of their shampoo.
And then—they take out a knife. A big, sharp, kicchen knife, the blade pristine. They turn their gaze to Susie and flash her their best serial killer grin.
"…Why the hell do you have a knife on you?" Susie says. In an instant, their face falls into picturesque innocence.
"To cut apples with," they say simply.
"Why would you need to do that?" Susie questions.
"Because if I eat the apple whole, I might eat the seeds. And the seeds have cyanide. And cyanide kills you."
"Like hell apple seeds can kill you," she says. "I eat 'em all the time."
"You never know," replies Kris, cutting into the apple…
Only for them to cut their finger in the process.
Susie startles at the smell of coppery blood.
"You dumbass," she groans. "Lemme see."
She ignores Kris's murmured 'So forward' as she grabs their arm, inspecting the depth of the cut. It's nothing too bad, but still…
"You're gonna need to get that patched up," she says, only to be met with their expectant gaze. "W-What? Don't look at me like that! I don't know shit about first aid!"
And, of course, it's not exactly like she'd ever patch them up, even if she could.
But still, this is gonna be a problem… Susie doesn't want someone to blame her for Kris's cut after all. Then she'd get in trouble, because of course she would—People jump at any chance they get to harp on her, pigeonhole her into that troublemaker box.
So what the hell do they do…?
Suddenly, a light bulb goes off in Susie's head.
"Go to Noelle," she says.
Kris raises a brow.
"I'm serious," she says. "Noelle's real responsible—she's probably got a first aid kit on her or something. And it'll make her real happy to have you make the first move for once."
Kris gazes at her judgmentally, to which she responds by aggressively smacking them on the shoulder. It doesn't come out quite as cruel as she'd like, though, more a playful smack than anything.
"You want me to bite your goddamn face off or something? Go." And then, just to make sure Kris doesn't get the wrong idea about this being a friendly act or anything, she snatches the apple from their bloodied hands. "In the meantime… I'll be taking this."
Kris freezes at the sight, before a soft smile unfurls upon their lips. What the hell is that look for? She stole their food.
"Aye aye, Captain," they say, giving her a mock salute.
Susie watches as they leave, digging into the slightly cut apple as the door shuts. It's gone, not even the seeds spared—Susie doesn't feel poisoned in the slightest, would you look at that?
Nothing left to do but wait.
Susie waits. A few seconds pass. A few more. She finds herself growing impatient. The urge comes to follow them, to see what exactly they're doing, anyways.
She tamps it down. Susie hardly cares about Kris's love life—The only reason she's been intervening the way she has is for Noelle's sake.
Susie waits for a few more seconds. That urge grows stronger and stronger like an itch ignored, her resistance feeling increasingly futile.
At last, Susie succumbs, opening the door to the abandoned classroom by just a crack.
She can make out Kris and Noelle in front of her, her own visage likely obscured from their field of view by the door.
"You got a cut on your hand, Kris?" Noelle says worriedly, staring at the hand they've extended to her. "Gosh, how'd that happen?"
Kris shrugs in response, unwilling, perhaps, that they cut themself trying to slice an apple.
"You don't know? Seriously?" Noelle lets out an exasperated huff, cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk—in a cute way, of course. "Jeez… You're lucky I have a first aid kit on me, Kris."
She knew it.
Noelle pulls out two band aids, extending them both towards them.
"Which one do you want: The one with the reindeer, or the gingerbread men?" Even Noelle's first aid kit is Christmas themed? Talk about dedication.
Kris wordlessly points to the one with the reindeer. Noelle nods in acknowledgement, gently placing the band aid on the cut.
It's a simple gesture, and yet… It feels intimate. Like Susie's seeing something she shouldn't.
Susie immediately tries to shake the thought out of her head. It's a goddamn bandaid. By her logic, school nurses are the ultimate caregivers—they're really not, by the way, she knows first hand how shitty and completely apathetic they can be.
"There. All patched up!" Noelle says. Kris, however, doesn't retract their hand. "…Huh? What're you waiting for?"
Kris doesn't say a word, letting their hand remain extended.
"You want me to kiss it better or something?" She says, only to gasp when met with a silent nod. "Kris! That's—"
And yet, all of a sudden, she goes quiet. Her eyes lose focus, as if she's some place far away despite her body being here in the present moment.
A small, wistful smile slips onto her face.
"Alright, Kris," she says. "If that's what you want."
Kris's eyes widen as Noelle presses a kiss to the bandage on their hand, face turning beet red.
"Faha, you should see the look on your face, Kris!" She says. "Y'know, we used to do this all the time. You'd always ask me to kiss your cuts better… But then you'd freak out whenever I actually did it. It was the funniest thing ever, pssht!"
And though they are lovers, the way Noelle speaks makes it seem as though that memory is a luxury long forgotten, and not something she can enjoy at any moment in the present.
Kris looks at the floor, unspeaking.
"Well," Noelle says, something flickering in her eyes, her enthusiasm dimming slightly. "I'll seeya tomorrow. Alright, Kris?"
Kris just nods—they don't even dignify her with a verbal response.
Noelle's gaze falters even further, eyes flitting aside as she looks off to the side.
"Alright," she repeats, perhaps speaking for them. Noelle walks off, staring at her first aid kit with a fond look, as if somehow grateful for the chance to give Kris a bandaid.
The moment she's out of sight, Susie walks out into open view, giving Kris a derisive once-over.
"You really need to treat her better," she says. Kris ignores the point she raises.
"Were you listening in on our conversation?" Kris questions, though a smile ghosts upon their lips, signalling that they very well know the answer.
"Don't change the subject," says Susie.
"…I think I'll be heading home early now," says Kris, ignoring her yet again—though, their brief hesitation makes her think that, at the very least, they considered her words. That's some consolation. "You can have the rest of my lunch."
"I don't need your charity."
"It's not charity," Kris says, firm in their words. "I don't want it. Either you eat it or it goes to waste."
Susie looks back at the abandoned classroom where the lunchbox sits.
"Yeah, yeah," she says. Awkwardly, she adds—"Seeya around, freak."
"…See you around," Kris responds. It's strange—they can't be bothered to offer that pleasantry to their own girlfriend, and yet, they're so willing to offer it to their enemy.
Or maybe they're not enemies—thinks a tiny part of her. Maybe they're just troubled acquaintances. They can get along well enough, after all. And Kris isn't completely insufferable…
Susie immediately crushes that small part of herself to the ground. Perish the thought—does she remember just how much they were pissing her off yesterday? Or just how shitty of a partner they've been to Noelle?
Brimming with conflicted feelings, Susie finds herself picking up the lunchbox and skulking home.
The shitty bed and the drafting air aren't much comfort as she settles into an awkward sleep. She dreams of two lovers—a princess and a knight, and a dragon who keeps trying to get in their way.
Susie wonders why, despite being an outsider to the whole town, she can't help but hone in on how she's an outsider to them in particular.
Whatever. People are confusing—and she's no exception. Kris and Noelle are pretty weird themselves. Weirdest couple she's ever seen, that's for sure.
Susie really needs to stop thinking about them so much. It's not like it's any of her business, anyways.
…In the back of her mind, though, despite all the resentment she can't help but feel—Susie hopes that Kris'll get it together and fix things with Noelle soon.